Animal Science 3 Animal Slaughter and Processing of

26-29 Jan 2015

Lecture
Copy for
Romel E.
MEAT PACKAGING
Functions of Packaging
1. Protection

From physical damages

From quality deterioration

From health hazards

From pests, microorganisms, and other

contaminants
2. Product specification

Weight of product

Brand name, ingredients, and nutrients

Directions on how to use or store the product

3. Handling aid for convenience

Cartons easy to transport or display on shelves

Plastic bags
4. Advertising Medium

Gets attraction

Helps /adds to the total value of the product

Aesthetic value
Basic Principles in the Selection of a Good Packaging
Materials
1. Protecting the products against physical damage, chemical
changes, and microbial contamination
2. Presenting the products to the consumers in the most
attractive manner to display, promote, communicate,
motivate, and glamorize
3. Handling the products during transport in the most
hygienic way so as to maintain their quality
Characteristics of a Good packaging Material
Fresh Meat
1. It must allow sufficient oxygen to pass through them to
maintain an optimum color (by maintaining a
predominantly oxymyoglobin pigment)
2. It must be moisture proof to prevent product dehydration
and surface discoloration
3. It must protect the product from further microbial
contamination during subsequent storage, handling and
merchandising.
4. It must not impart any odor or flavor to the product and
should retain the natural flavors and odors that are
inherent to the product
5. It should have tensile strength and resistance to tearing
and scuffing to withstand normal handling.
6. It must be grease proof to prevent the absorption of fat
that will reduce the strength and moisture vapor
transmission properties of the material.
Frozen meat
1. It should have low moisture vapor transmission to prevent
product dehydration and surface discoloration during
storage
2. It must possess pliability and flexibility
3. It must possess strength which includes tear and puncture
resistance, temperature resistance and storability
4. IT must be grease proof or grease resistant
Cured Meat Products
1. Oxygen Impermeable
2. Moisture proof
3. It must protect the product from further microbial
contamination during the subsequent storage, handling
and merchandising
4. It must not impart any odor or flavor to the product and the
natural flavors and odors that are inherent to the product
must be retained
5. It must have sufficient tensil strength and resistance to
tearing and scuffing to withstand normal handling
6. It must be grease proof so that the meat fat will not be
absorbed and the strength or moisture vapor transmission
properties will not be reduced.
Recommended Packaging Materials for Fresh and Cured Meat
Products
Fresh Meat
1. Paper
a. Bleached and unbleached kraft use for wrapping
whole sale cut of beef
b. Olied wet-strength bleach sulfite paper use for
wrapping wholesale cuts of pork
2. Plastic
has many desirable characteristics such as light weight,
inertness, clarity, flexibility, rigidity, and a wide range
of barrier properties.
a. Fresh meat Cellophane
b. Polyethelene (PE) useful for frozen meat
because it retains its flexibility at temp as low as

-51*C and also use for laminating packaging

material for vacuum and gas packaging meats.
c.
Polypropylene (PP) has very good transparency,
fair resistance but has very poor cold resistance
d. Nylon polyethylene tubular stock used in the
form of casings and contour bags.
Processed/Cured Meats
1. Paper
2. Plastics
a. regenerated cellulose
smoked meat
processed meat
b. polyethylene (PE)
frozen stored
processed meat
se for shrink packaging
c.
polypropylene (PP),
use in film lamination for vacuum and gas
packaging processed meates to minimize
leaks
d. polyesters

suitable for ready to serve convenient food

e. nylon
thermoforming dep draw vacuum package of
processed meat (luncheon meat and
frankfurters)
f.
saran film

package for liver sausage and other sausage products

Resistant to moist heat up to 132*C

g. aluminum foil
packages of cured, smoke and processed
meat
h. laminate
a combination of two or more single sheets
of mapers, films and foils which are bonded
together
coating is used to increase the protective
function
3. Metal Cans
a. Tin Cans
Most rigid and the most protective container
ever produced for preserved foods
b. Aluminum Cans
For canned sausage and luncheon meat.
It has lighter weight and greater resistance
to chemical interaction with products
4. Glass Containers
Has chemical inertness, clarity, rigidity,
resistance to internal pressure and
resistance to heat.
However, this is fragile and heavy weight.
Advantage of Combining Packaging Materials
1. Improves the strength of the package
2. Improves the resistance to loss of volatile components of
the packaged product. Reduces transmission of water
vapor, oxygen, and other gasses
3. Improves fat resistance
4. Provides heat-sealing
5. Eliminates fractures at low temperature and measures
package integrity at high temperatures
6. Improves flex endurance
7. Improves packaging machine performance
8. Provides sandwich printing and other graphics
improvement
9. Improves the package appearance
10. Supplies merchandising and convenience features
Packaging Processes
Packaging consist of bagging the product, evacuating the air, and
heating or clip sealing the bag
Modern Method of Packaging Meat
There are three modern methods;
1. Shrink Packaging
The product is bagged, and air-evacuated. The header
portion of the bag is heat sealed or twisted and clip sealed.
Advantages:

Contour tit

Good meat appearance

Package rigidity

Crystal-clear display
2. Vacuum Packaging
The meat is bagged with minimum volume of air. A special
vacuum-packaging machine is used to expel excess air and
seal package
3. Controlled Atmosphere packaging
Air is completely evacuated by vacuum process and then
replaces by a protective atmosphere such as nitrogen or
carbon dioxide

Recommended for water or thinly sliced processed meat as

the slices are difficult to separate if vacuum packaged
Packaging Waste Materials
Packaging waste materials constitute an important and growing
portion of the solid waste accumulation. Packaged products are
highly consumer-oriented and packaging waste materials, therefore,
pre dominantly appear in the solid wastes. The disposal of the
accumulated solid waste is becoming a problem
Characteristics of an ideal disposable packaging material

Lightweight

Low volume
Easily crushable
Easily separable
High-material value
Minimum of different materials
Biologically and chemical inert
Highly degradable
Highly combustible

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